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Because her experiences have given her a compassion she might not otherwise have had. An understanding that so many of us are a few salary cheques away from a food bank. Her mother, already with three children of her own, adopted a fourth child. ‘There was something wrong with her. She needed the adulation. She had a challenging mental problem. She was born with it; genuinely born with it. I don’t know where it came from. Everybody knew what was going on in our home but nobody could do anything about it. Nobody intervened. Even now – though she talks about it with a generosity that’s astonishing – you can hear the emotion behind the words. A great yarn - Shrager knows her food and she's cooked up a storm. . . Rosie can write and Prudence Bulstrode is here to stay' Miriam Margolyes'Think bolshy Mrs Beeton meets Miss Marple, our rambunctious heroine, Prudence, hilariously stomps her way through a riotous and unpredictable plot.
The Last Supper is a charming, hugely entertaining book. Retired chef Prudence Bulstrode is cranky, stubborn and insightful; an utterly brilliant creation. I can’t wait to see what she gets up to next’ M W Craven Rosemary is one of the most positive and resilient people I know. I love her spirit as I love her cooking. Now, I have to admire her writing too’ Pierre Koffman The supporting characters, especially Suki (Prudence's granddaughter), work well together and help to enhance the story when Prudence is brought to Farleigh Manor in light of an old rival's untimely death. Was it natural causes that took Deirdre Shaw's life? Or was murder on the menu? Called in to rescue the shooting party's reunion weekend, and cook up a feast, all is not as it would appear at Farleigh Manor. Rosemary Shrager has created a welcome addition to the ranks of female amateur sleuths. The Last Supper is a witty, light-hearted mystery, in which the author has served up a tasty treat’ Simon Brett
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In those days, you did not intervene. From the outside world, we had an incredibly privileged life; from the inside world, it was really unhappy.’ Suspecting that Deirdre's death was suspicious, she and her granddaughter Suki, set about uncovering the truth of what was really going on at the manor. It was very cathartic. It was a moment of just saying, ‘I love you’. We’d been through a lot; we’d done all this. All this was incredibly important – memories of the children and fun days; just remembering. Prudence is only too happy to take up the position and soon she is working in the kitchens of Farleigh Manor. But Farleigh Manor is the home to secrets, both old and new. The guests were just as I expected and an unlikeable bunch except for Richard, after all you don’t see many vegetarians at a shooting weekend where they plan to eat their spoils. I must also make a special mention of the lilac spandex and fur coat wearing Constable Littleton who never failed to amuse.
The opening to The Last Supper was immensely interesting and really brought the cosy vibes as we are introduced due Prudence Bulstrode, a famous TV chef who has left fame behind for a quiet life in the country. On the day of the annual fair her granddaughter, Suki crashes her camper van into the prize vegetables after one too many. Pru and Suki discuss her situation when she gets a phone call informing her of the death of her friend and on screen rival, Deirdre Shaw. Deirdre was hired to put on a banquet at Farleigh Manor and with her sudden death they have asked Pru to replace her and she accepts taking Suki as her assistant for the event. As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Suki and Pru arrive at Farleigh Manor and begin to settle in for the long weekend ahead of them but something already seems off about the whole place. Suki learnt from her friend that there was another death in the manor over a century before that remains unsolved and this coupled with Peru’s sense that something is wrong with Deirdre being found in the rhubarb patch given it was the wrong time of year for the fruit is giving me ominous vibes. The first night they are there Pru is awoken several times by her granddaughter’s snoring but this allows her to hear someone in distress in the manor and she immediately heads to investigate. Think bolshy Mrs Beeton meets Miss Marple, our rambunctious heroine, Prudence, hilariously stomps her way through a riotous and unpredictable plot. Witty, warm and so enjoyable’ Jo BrandA thin plot that could have been much better if the main character, Prudence, hadn't been so awfully written. In fact, the main character often felt like a Mary Sue character, making it difficult to read. The book was full of boring, old, and lazy stereotypes - such as teenagers being lazy, and technology being inferior to good old-fashioned books. For example, the granddaughter, Suki, was pretty much forced to join Prudence as her assistant for a weekend as a private chef; Suki clearly doesn't want to do this but is constantly being told off and reprimanded for not being 110% motivated and showing intuition. As far as I can tell, Suki has never worked in a professional kitchen yet is expected to understand the role of a kitchen assistant. It blames her being a teenager - which is just lazy writing and poor judgement on the part of the author. This is as old school and country as you can get in a cosy crime. With a Harvest Fayre vegetable growing competition and shoots at posh estates with old duffers showing pride in their killing abilities. So when Prudence’s rival Deidre, who was hired to put on a feast, is found dead in the rhubarb patch it is up to her and her granddaughter Suki to take her place in the kitchen. With the venue having a history of murder and guests becoming ill is there more to Deirdre’s death than ‘natural causes’. Rosemary interweaves the two cases with ease and keeps us guessing right to the end. Full of suspense and suspects as any good mystery should be. But also laced with lots of tasty recipes which will get your tummy rumbling What I found unforgivable and I’m sorry to say it forced me to not finish the book, were the inaccuracies from shoddy research. The whole game shooting angle, fundamental to the story, was wildly inaccurate and portrayed in a very negative way. I found that particularly surprising for someone who presumably loves to cook game. Rosemary is one of the most positive and resilient people I know. I love her spirit as I love her cooking. Now, I have to admire her writing too' Pierre Koffman
On the other hand, I thought: I am so fortunate. I’ve got friends; I’ve got friends with houses; spare rooms; they all took me in. And, for me, that was the best time in the fact that people looked after me for about three years. I would go off and sleep in people’s… I know it was Cadogan Square; I know it was Fulham; I know it was Highgate and I know these are very posh places!This is the first in a new series of Prudence Bulstrode mysteries and I throughly enjoyed it and I cannot wait to read more adventures from this author.
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